The world of Tzu Chi January 2020 (Vol.118)

2020 • 01 32 Tan Shi Wei served her mother, Liew Nguk Mooi, tea to seek forgiveness for her constant fits of temper. [Photograph by Long Shun Lynn] Heart-warming gestures of love Reported by Teh Wei Jie, Law Xin Ying & Ho Kang Zheng T he poignant sentiments evoked by the touching display of parental benevolence onstage lingered beyond the final curtain call to the designated area outside the performance hall for attendees to express their love for their parents by serving them a cup of tea. The attendees were offered the opportunity to translate their filial intentions into action by writing heartfelt messages to their parents on the postcards provided and depositing them into a post box specially designed for the occasion. Another highlight of the event was a photo booth installed against a backdrop furnished with motifs emblematic of the virtues of filial piety. Volunteer Choo Kok Choi, who was responsible for designing the photo booth, explained that he sought inspiration from vintage household items and traditional games to recreate a nostalgic, homely ambience, as evident in a replica of a telephone from the sixties to represent a parent’s longing for tidings from offspring who have left home, as well as memorabilia from traditional games to elicit fond memories of family bonding. Volunteers guided the parent-child pairs through the ceremony, issuing prompts for the children to present tea to their parents, who basked in their children’s affection and gratitude with every sip. The parent-child pairs then enveloped each other in a warm embrace and voiced their love for each other. The parents were moved to tears by their children’s filial gesture, while the children themselves were overwhelmed with emotion, including Tan Shi Wei, a law student from Universiti Malaya (UM) who played the role of a disobedient child in the performance. Tears flowed freely between both mother and daughter as Shi Wei served her mother, Liew Nguk Mooi, tea for the first time. Shi Wei confessed that she often lost her temper with her mother, but the latter has been tolerating her daughter’s tantrums with unrelenting patience and gentle understanding. “She’s only frustrated by her own high expectations of herself. It takes time to change,” Nguk Mooi reasoned tenderly. pecial Feature